John Kerry was right to sing “You’ve got a friend” to France

January 19, 2015 5:30 PM

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Musical performances have become an inevitable part of national responses to terrorism. On Friday (Jan. 16), US secretary of State John Kerry brought James Taylor with him to Paris to sing Carole King’s “You’ve Got a Friend” to the French, and was widely ridiculed.

Kerry’s move seemed not just late, coming five days after the US had failed to send a high-level delegate to the anti-terrorism march of world leaders in Paris, but also out of step. Three days earlier, the French parliament had spontaneously performed “La Marseillaise” after a minute’s silence for ...